FESTIVAL IZIS
PERFORMANCE

The text originates from research conducted at salt fields in Ulcinj, commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Podgorica, Montenegro, for the solo exhibition PiNK (22.10.–22.11.2025). During the 2024 residency, the author focused on the thriving flamingo populations inhabiting the abandoned industrial landscape of a former salt production facility. These birds, navigating a post-industrial biotope, became a lens through which to explore extreme ecological systems and the intricate interdependencies of their migratory inhabitants.

From these observations emerged not only the inspiration for the exhibition but also a speculative reflection on extreme futures. The text envisions a world following catastrophic ecological collapse, where the logic of survival of the fittest intersects with interspecies xeno-solidarity, imagining the emergence of unforeseen forms of life that dissolve into a collective resilience.

Maja Smrekar (1978, Slovenia) is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher whose work explores technology, memory, and posthumanism. Combining art, science, and technology, she investigates ecofeminism, interspecies relationships, AI, and biotechnology through performance, installation, video, sculpture, and hybrid media. Her work has been shown internationally at institutions including MAXXI Rome, ZKM Karlsruhe, Kunsthalle Wien, BOZAR Brussels, and Ars Electronica Linz, and in festivals such as Transmediale and Cynetart. Recipient of awards including the Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica, Prešeren Foundation Award, and Follow Fluxus, she teaches at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, University of Ljubljana, and collaborates with leading academic, scientific, and art institutions across the world.

CREDITS:
Text: Maja Smrekar
Sound: Ida Hiršenfelder